50 years of METCO in Wayland: From father to sons

Sunday

May 6, 2018 at 12:01 AMMay 6, 2018 at 10:18 AM

Darrick Edwards hopped on a school bus from Boston to Wayland, and spent the next 11 years in the Wayland Public Schools as a METCO student. Three of his children are currently METCO students in Wayland, as the district celebrates 50 years of METCO in town.

Henry Schwan hschwan@wickedlocal.com @henrycojo

WAYLAND – When Darrick Edwards was a child, his life changed when neighbors living across the street gave his parents some advice.

“You have to go out and get it,” Edwards remembers the Simpson family telling his parents when it came to getting the best education possible for their son.

His parents took the advice, and enrolled Edwards in METCO, a desegregation program that buses students in Boston and Springfield to suburban public schools.

Edwards started catching a bus at 6 a.m. in Boston for the hour-plus drive to Wayland to attend first grade. The daily round trips continued for 11 more years until Edwards graduated from Wayland High in 1989.

“It was a very positive experience,” Edwards said of his METCO years.

Last week, Edwards was back at his old high school with his three sons, Donovan, Vaughn and Quentin, who currently attend Wayland schools as METCO students.

50th anniversary

This is the 50th year of METCO in Wayland. The acronym stands for Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, and Wayland celebrated its 50th anniversary last Sunday with a party at the High School.

Edwards and his boys couldn’t attend, because Dad worked his firefighter shift in Boston. It’s a job Edwards has worked for 20 years since earning an accounting degree from North Adams State College, which is today called the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

The METCO program started in 1966 - Wayland joined two years later. This year, about 3,300 METCO students attend school in 38 Boston area school districts and four Springfield districts, according to the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The program is supported by state funds.

There are 137 METCO students in Wayland schools this year, according to Mabel Reid-Wallace, Wayland's METCO director.

“It’s one of our most important programs,” Wayland Superintendent Arthur Unobskey said. “It provides a diversity of experience in the classrooms. “

Nearly all of Wayland’s METCO students go on to four-year colleges, Reid-Wallace said. When she started her job in Wayland 18 years ago, many attended local community colleges.

“Now they attend colleges all over the country,” she said. “I’m really excited about that.”

Culture shock

Edwards said his METCO experience was a culture shock originally, but he made friends he still keeps in touch with all these years later.

“We wanted the best we could get,” Edwards said as to why he decided to send his three boys to Wayland. He has two older sons who weren't part of the METCO program.

The three get up at 5 a.m., just like their dad did, to catch a 6 a.m. bus to Wayland from their home in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. The trip takes about an hour and 20 minutes. While Edwards started his Wayland experience in the first grade, Donovan, Vaughn and Quentin started in kindergarten.

Dononvan, 14, is in the eighth grade, Vaughn, 12, is a sixth-grader, and Quentin, 9, is in the third grade.

All three said they enjoy Wayland schools. Donovan, who comes across as quiet and thoughtful, said he likes playing computer games with his Wayland friends. Vaughn said the Wayland teachers are nice, and Quentin likes the books his teacher assigns, including “Wings of Fire."

"It's about dragons," Edwards said of the book his son loves to read.

Not on his mind

Edwards said being a student of color in a predominately white district wasn’t on his mind during his 11 years in Wayland. His focus was on hitting the books and doing what was needed to get his homework done.

He said race became a topic of discussion with his friends during his college years after the 1991 Rodney King incident. King, who was black, was beaten by four Los Angeles police officers after a high-speed chase. The beating was caught on video and sparked riots after the officers were acquitted of assault charges.

“I don’t see black or white, I see students,” Donovan said of his experience in Wayland.

His father acknowledged it would be nice if Boston offered a full complement of quality school choices, so students wouldn’t have to be bused to the suburbs, but “I don’t know if that will ever be possible,” he said.

Donovan, Vaughn and Quentin still have many years left in their educational journey, but they’re already thinking about possible careers in the video game industry.

Vaughn is also thinking about becoming a professional You-Tuber, because you “can get paid."

All three said they would come back to Wayland when it celebrates METCO’s 100th anniversary in 2068.

“Definitely,” Donovan said of attending the 100th anniversary. “The (Wayland school) system has been nice to me.”

Edwards was captain of the Wayland High football team his senior year. His boys are also involved in extracurricular activities. Donovan is in the jazz band, Vaughn plays the saxophone and Quentin plays the violin.

“I had a positive experience (in Wayland), and I’m happy to pass it on to my children,” Edwards said.

Follow Henry Schwan on Twitter @henrymetrowest. He can be reached at hschwan@wickedlocal.com or (508) 626-3964.